Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Bangali Triangle Parota ar Alu Bati Charchari

Parota with Alu Bati Charchari -- Divine

1.We had an amazing Christmas party.

2.The Liberty Science Center is a whole lot of fun when there is no one around.

3.The kids faith in Santa was re-instilled. BS got her toy which changes hair color only it needs icy cold water to do that and I am unable to provide icy cold water in this icy cold weather. LS got her "geef",a Thomas engine and couple of books.

4."Pippi Longstocking" and "Katie Kazoo" are some new series that I got for BS.

3.I must edit my last post to add that Sheela and Munni are now the mainstays of Bong parties. So move over Ms.Lahiri.

4.Indian Chinese for Christmas works perfect.

5.We have been snowed in and housebound for the last 3 days and I wish Santa had gotten me a gift, a transmogrifer.

6.I saw "Up" after every one in the world has seen and said everything about it.

7.Teen kona parota or Bengali Triangular Parotas are not all that difficult and can be made without the aid of a compass and protractor. I say Bengali because I have not seen Triangular Parathas in any of my non-Bong friend's house.

Parota with Notun Gur(Palm Jaggery) sent from home for Winter -- Priceless

I have been so afraid of making the standard Bengali Triangle Parota all my life that I never ever attempted them. I would wait patiently for the Ma or Ma-in-law to turn up and serve them. I had such a mind block that I never even stood beside them while they rolled out the perfect isosceles triangles. And geometry wasn't even my weak point.

Honestly, I wasn't even sure why they were better than the circular ones and I thought it was just a lot of hype. My doubt still continues.

Then everything changed on a sunny November Sunday morning, when I told a friend staying the weekend with us, "Chal Parota banai"(Let's make Parota). Timidly I asked her if she knew to make triangular Parotas. She pooh-poohed the whole thing, saying it was no big deal and showed me how. While she expertly made 10 of them in 5 minutes, I struggled with two but at least I got some bell like shape out of it.

There after I got into the groove and made them again. They now looked better. After some more attempts I can now say, Triangle Parotas are easy to make. Why they are important I cannot tell.

Repeat after me.

You guys have a great next year. Make your resolutions and stick by them. When making teen kona parota is the high point of my life, it is natural that I resolve to do nothing better.

AP Flour/Maida ~ 1 cup
Whole Wheat Flour ~ 1 cup
White Oil for shortening ~ 1&1/2 tbsp. many people use ghee as shortening too.
Salt ~ a pinch or say 1/4tsp
Warm Water ~ 1 cup(added gradually). Some people add warm milk to make a softer dough, I haven't, you can try.
Dry Flour ~ in a plate for rolling the Paratha.

How I Did It

In a wide mouthed bowl add the flour, the salt and the oil for shortening.
With your finger tips rub in the oil into the flour.
Now gradually add the warm water working the flour into a dough. If it becomes too watery don't panic and add a smattering of flour but it is smart to be cautious with the water.
Knead the dough till it does not stick to your fingers at all.
Keep on kneading till the dough becomes alabaster smooth, soft and pliable.

Cover with a damp cloth or damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Once again pummel/knead the dough and make small ping-pong sized balls from it.

Now start rolling as follows

Take a ping-pong size ball, flatten it between your palms, dust with flour.

Roll a small circular disc

Fold along the diameter to form a semi-circle

Take the right end of the semi-circle, lift and fold along the radius to meet the left end

Gently roll and elongate the sides to get a triangular bell shape

Roll some more, maintaining the shape. Thickness should be like the regular paratha.

Heat a skillet/tawa. Place the rolled paratha on the heated tawa and cook on one side until bubbles starts to appear.
Flip the other side and pour oil in drops around the edges of the paratha or spray the surface with cooking oil.
After half a minute or so flip again and again add oil around the edges. Keep doing this, every side half a minute or so until the paratha is cooked on bot sides. There will be little brown spots on the surface and then you know you are done.

wow, what beautiful memories. As I grew up in Jamshedpur and mom was grew in Chittaranjan, this is the paratha that we know too, teen kona paratha and wow nolen gur, it has been ages since I tasted it. Beautiful pictures dear.

Nice blog Sandeepa. I am originally from U.P. but grew up all over India because my dad was in the Army. I have eaten triangular parathas everywhere so was a bit surprised to see that you consider them Bengali :))Anyway, the version we make at home has no oil in the dough but we smear a bit of oil between the layers. The resulting soft easily separable layers make it yummier & better than the round ones for me...As a kid, I loved eating the layers separately

Hey I make triangular parathas all the time, i don't know how to make round ones :)I am not much of a cook but I read all ur posts bcoz u write so well and to drool at all the pix that u post.Have a wonderful Bloggingful New yearLuv, luc,cheers

Looks Yummy..just like to add in south india, particularly in Karnataka , we call this chapathi.We don't have rotis in south. Some make exactly same chapathi just round in shape. But i grew up eating triangle chapathis..

Hello Sandeepa , u ve very interesting way of writing . Ur parathas are staple breakfast of a middleclass home in U.P. we dont add maida to it but sm salt and ajvain . generally eaten with chai .Have a gr8 and happening 2011

Yes- I agree with the anonymous UP-ite- we also make tikona parathas, with no oil in the dough, but oil smeared on the layers, adding flakiness and layering to the paratha. They sound yummier, the way you describe them:)Happy New Year!

I thought triangle parathas were only made by Tamilians who never mastered the phulka! Imagine that! Or maybe MIL learnt these from her Bong neighbours in Delhi in the 1950s? Of course she makes lovely phulkas, so she wouldnt have had to hide behind a paratha - which makes me ask, why did you fear them? that was the only shape I made for some time before I came near the "round" ;)

Coincidentally, I also posted an adored comibnation oily bread and potato "sideish" - wish you a very Happy New Year! (PS I havent even heard the Munni Sheila songs inspite of living IN India!)

My mom made these too...and we're from Haryana-Rajasthan border. Like others pointed out, our version has no oil in the dough, but a generous sprinkling between layers. Very yum...You have a nice blog.

Sandeepa Di,I am commenting for the first time, though I am not new to your blog. having being married for the last 4 months your blog is a bible for my post work cooking schedule. One small query...don't we add jeere (cumin) phoron to this alu charchari?

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Predominantly a Bong, who loves being a Mom and loves to cook among other things for the li'l one and the big ones.She loves to write too and you will find her food spiced up with stories. Mainly a collection of Bengali Recipes with other kinds thrown in, in good measure. A Snapshot of Bengali Cuisine